Goddess
by claire svu fan
Summary: During a mission to a planet untouched by the Ori, Sam is mistaken by the villagers for thier goddess and is held captive, then they discover, only Jack can save her.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm going to kill him" Vala announced while wadding through a marshland swamp "P2X893 is a beautiful planet, Vala" she mimicked the words of Cameron "A tropical paradise" the whinny tone kicking in.

"Vala, it's just a rainforest" Carter grinned at her as she shot back a glare

"Yes, a RAIN forest!" she snapped "meaning wet, smelly, hot, sticky, stale, humid and above all else…"

"Would you shut up!" Cameron yelled from a few metres ahead. The five of them had been trudging through the muddy earth for almost an hour now and Vala's whining had been grating on everyone's nerves.

"At least we haven't come across any snakes" Sam smiled and quickened her pace, leaving Vala to stare back at her as the possibilities mounted in her head.

As Sam caught up with Daniel, she caught the tail end of a snicker and shook her head at him.

"You know, you're probably the only person here who's going to be able to calm her" she not so subtly pointed out. But Daniel merely shook his head in reply.

"She'll cut it out soon enough" he told her and Sam nodded

"I hope for her sake, you're right"

It was another 40 minutes before they reached the village SG12 had recommended they check out. The civilisation seemed to be untouched by the Ori but the planets estimated population alone was enough reason for it to be targeted soon.

This particular village though, was said to house a weapon of great power. The village elders had reported that 'A great time ago, there had been a sentient being that had come and defeated the evil rulers with but one simple statue.'

Daniel was beyond excited.

Most of the trail had lightened up since the marshes but heavy downpour had left SG1 dripping as they entered the village. In the dark, the storm provided, there was little they could see as they entered the village, but two SG12 members and a young man met with them quickly and rushed them into a tower of sorts.

Inside, it was warm. There was a fireplace nearby and a small group of villagers surrounded them, pulling off their heavy vests and weapons and wrapping cloth around them. On first glance, the architecture looked like a mix between roman Greek and Indian. Later Daniel would conclude that it was of indo-European origin, but for now, all that they were really interested in was getting dry and with any luck, clean.

They were rushed into separate rooms, men together, and women together. The rooms seemed to be communal shower rooms and looked to occupy many people. Sam quickly assessed that the villagers who had taken them into the shower room were men and had put the breaks on any physical contact very quickly. But the men made no attempt to wash them, and instead left the room without showing their faces, leaving fresh clothes for them to change into.

"That was…strange." Vala commented as she watched them retreat and then start to unbuckle her belt.

"Gender must play a vital role in this village" Sam responded while Vala gave her a vacant look.

"Meaning?" she asked as she untied her laces

"Meaning, you and I might need to be on our toes about what we do and say" Carter warned hoping not to revisit her time with the Mongolian villagers.

"How come?" Vala asked intrigued as Sam began to undress.

"Uh, Daniel would do a better job of explaining it, but most patriarchal societies have very strict laws that oppress women. Things like, women not being allowed to be seen in public or being allowed to speak without being spoken to" Sam explained briefly as she shed her clothing down to her underwear and then stood under a shower to wash off the grime.

"So this is a patriarchal society?" Vala asked from a nearby shower and Sam shook her head.

"I don't know, but It could be, so just keep your head low and try not to speak until we can assess the situation" Sam told her and Vala grudgingly agreed. A few moments later, they were met by a young girl, just after they had been dressed. She was small and looked very frail but she had a very beautiful face.

"My name is Atina" she spoke as she neared them "I have come to welcome you to our village" she smiled warmly as she bowed her head in greeting.

"You have?" Vala eyes grew wide with scepticism

"Yes" she responded simply

"Uh, where's the rest of our team?" Sam asked as she stood a little closer to see her face better in the poor light.

"They are with the ones who call themselves SG12" the girl explained

"Are they being _welcomed_ too?" Vala asked and the girl shook her head and laughed.

"No, they are being dressed in more appropriate clothing so to avoid judgement in the village" she explained but upon sensing the tension, she continued "every villager must dress respectably"

"Can we see them?" Sam asked and the girl nodded, follow me and I will take you to them, but only after you have been dressed in the appropriate attire" she promised while they shot glances between each other as they followed behind her.

A short while later, in the mens quarters, the male members of SG1 were being briefed on the situation by SG12.

"They're a bit touchy about appearances around here but otherwise, they seem friendly and are generally open to the idea of helping fight the Ori." One of the SG12 members explained "the village seems to be primarily run by men, or at least the father of this kid who they all admire… or something to that effect, but women seem to be held in very high regard" he finished

"Which makes sense given how few of them there are around here" another spoke up.

"What are we talking one woman to every two men?" Cameron asked but this only got a chuckle.

"More like one to every 12, Sir" a third member spoke

"They have a relative understanding of the cause though" the final member spoke "they have just started to touch on genetics and know that statistically they are far more likely to have boys because of the female gene weakening" he explained "but the leader here seems to think that this is normal and that it only grows weak because of the absence of their fertility god."

"God or goddess?" Daniel asked from the back of the group

"Actually, goddess" he replied "the statue that they're all talking about is a sculpture of the goddess or 'sentient woman' who saved them from the Goa'uld" he paused to gauge Daniels reaction "I'm thinking Oma…" he offered but Daniel shook his head.

"Oma follows the rules too strictly for that, she breaks the rules by helping people ascend but she couldn't prevent their death" Daniel explained

"Orlin" Cameron offered but it was quickly shot down.

"Perhaps another ascended being is helping these people" Teal'c voiced what they were all thinking.

"Which means that statue might not be the device we're looking for" Cameron sighed

Suddenly there was a horn being blown in the distance and then men dressed in robes, similar to the ones they had all been provided, ran through the room, hastily following the sound.

"What's going on?" Daniel asked but none of SG12 seemed to have any answers, so they followed the men instead.

They soon entered a great hall where people appeared to be gathering near a stage where a tall statue of a woman in revealing warriers clothing and a set of wings that resembled fairy wings, stood. A child stepped on to the Stage and with her was what looked to be a woman with a mask over her face, being restrained by two men with their faces turned away. They held her out before the crowd under the Childs instruction while a grown man stood back beside another woman who was bound to a pole.

Daniel gasped, seeing that the other woman was Vala and could only hope that the woman being held before the crowd was not Sam.

"Behold!" the child yelled "our goddess has returned!" she finished after pulling the mask off of Sam's face. The crowd went silent with the reveal and then after a long moment, broke into a cheer. Daniel turned to the statue, only now seeing the startling resemblance between it and Sam.


	2. Chapter 2

"Excuse me chairman, but what!" Cameron blew up after listening to the man actively defending his daughter's actions.

"Colonel, she bares a striking resemblance and…"

"She's not your god!" he cut him off, growing increasingly irritated "She's an air force Colonel from our planet, and she's coming back with us!" he demanded as the chairman's brow lifted in panic.

"Colonel please; be rational" he pleaded "our people have been praying to the goddess for what you would recognise as hundreds of earth years and have heard nothing and seen no trace of her since she saved our people from the Goa'uld." He explained "our women grow scarce and the legend written on the foot of the statue foretells her return on the eve of a new enemy called Ori, when the female population drops below one tenth." He finished and crossed his arms "Colonel, that time is now"

"Coincidence!" Cameron threw back; but before the chairman could respond, Daniel thought to cut in.

"That's how you concluded her absence was responsible for the lean towards males?" Daniel asked and the man nodded.

"The population dropped below that point at the turn of this cycle, since then we have been looking to our women in the hope that our goddess might have been reborn in one of them." He explained "My daughter is the latest in possibilities" he added and then turned towards the window looking down over the majestic statue. "Our records describe her to be a woman of great beauty, and a soldier unlike any that our people knew."

"Uh… how does that make Sam, your goddess?" Vala asked "I mean I'm sure there are other beautiful, soldiers" she smiled as if suggesting something.

"Yes, we have been watching our daughters, the more beautiful ones especially"

"That why your people treat your daughter like a queen?" Cameron asked and he nodded "until she saw Colonel Carter's face, it was believed that my daughter was the goddess reborn." He explained.

"So really you have no more idea about whether Sam is the goddess then you did your own daughter." Cameron spoke up.

"No, we have one way of knowing…" he admitted "but the method is unclear" he added

"Of what method do you speak?" Teal'c asked receiving looks from everyone

"I will show you"

---

Daniel was surprised to find that from a closer look, the statue appeared to resemble something made by the ancient Egyptians, hand made like the stones of the pyramids, and yet it seemed eerily similar to the statue responsible for Jack aging, so many years ago. The chairman knelt down at the foot of the statue and opened a panel. Yep eerie was the word.

"The script is difficult to decipher but we believe it says that when the goddess returns, she must place her hand on the mechanisms of this statue and it will glow."

"Uh, Daniel isn't that…" Cameron turned to him

"Ancient technology" Daniel nodded

"The device needs only someone with the ancient gene" Teal'c assessed

"I was going to say …English" Cameron frowned and Daniel lent in to read the script. Cameron was right, it was written in plain English. He cleared his throat and read out load.

"'This machine was built with ancient technology, only someone with the ancient gene can activate it, making it light up. In time an enemy of the ancients will come offering Origin as a religion. The number of women will drop below one tenth of the population and at this time someone with the gene will activate this Machine. Contact General O'Neill'" Daniel read as they knelt around it in stunned confusion

"You see, the goddess has foreseen this, she is reborn in your Colonel Carter and she will activate this machine" the chairman jumped in but was quickly stopped by Cameron.

"Nope, Sam doesn't have the gene" Cameron told him "but uh General O'Neill does" he smiled as he lifted his radio to contact SG12 back at the gate, where they had been sent to contact the SGC, after Sam had been captured.

"Wait Cameron" Daniel spoke "there's only one way I know of for Jack's name to be written on this statue." He paused waiting for Cameron to register

"The time machine" he finished and Daniel nodded.

"Wait, I'm not following" Vala spoke up

"Maybourne led us to an ancient ship that could travel through time. We used it to get a ZPM in 3000bc, by going back 5000 years and hiding it where we could find it at present day." Daniel clarified for her.

"Perhaps the SG1 who remained in that timeline, may be responsible for what has occurred on this planet" Teal'c offered and Daniel nodded

"It's a long shot but it's the only thing that could explain all this" Daniel agreed while Cameron just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever… we do what the statue tells us, we get our Anti bad guy machine and we prove Sam isn't a god…" Cameron assessed "sounds good to me" he grinned and then picked up his radio. "I'm going to get Laundry to call in a favour"

But as soon as he had given the order, Atina, the child, came rushing down to their side crying.

"Pa! She's gone! Our goddess is gone!"

---

Note: If you're disinterested in a relatively complicated plot… I suggest you stop reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam woke up to darkness and the strong smell of alcohol. Her last memory was of falling asleep in a room in the tower where Atina's guards had locked her in. But now she was definitely somewhere else. A mask over her face prevented her from seeing anything or speaking, but cold metal lay beneath her; and all around her, she could hear bottles clinking together. She pulled herself up and rested against the wall of what she now realised was some sort of delivery truck.

Wrapping her arms around herself, to fend off the cold air, she found that she no longer wore the dress robes that had been supplied to her by Atina, and now wore some sort of two piece outfit. A spandex sort of fabric clung to her legs and chest. The outfit was off the shoulder, low cut and open at the stomach but connected by a metal ring around her waist. Her hands and feet were bare and a metal bar sat pinned to her back, joined to the ring.

The rumbling of the motor seemed to calm and she turned to what she gathered was the front before falling back as a sliding door, slid out from behind her.

Strong hands caught her as she struggled to regain balance. She was pulled out of the truck and sat in a chair that had been cushioned and covered in a silky material.

Sam fought to sit up, but was pulled back painfully by the ring around her waist.

"Forgive me" a man spoke beside her ear as her nostrils were invaded with a powerful gas.

Fight was the only thing she could think to do, thrusting her body forward and lifting her legs to kick at her attacker, or possibly attackers. But the drug was quick as her body felt weak and weighted; her legs to heavy to move and her chest straining to breathe. Her head fell back as her muscles gave way, forcing her to crumble into the chair. But she did not sleep. Her body fell limp with paralysis, but her mind stayed ever conscious, hearing every noise around her.

---

"Okay Mitchell, what'd you do to my team?" Jack asked as he stepped through the gate onto the first off world planet he had been on in a while.

"Welcome to P2X 893 sir" Cameron greeted as he and Teal'c moved in from where they had been standing to avoid the unstable incoming wormhole.

"Nice place" Jack looked around at the forest edge

"Yeah, you won't be thinking that half an hour into the trek to the village sir" Cameron admitted "and you definitely won't be thinking that when you meet the people"

"Hank gave me the run down, Colonel" he cleared his throat "shall we?" he asked gesturing towards the forest edge and Teal'c bowed his head, leading the way.

---

Once they had reached the village and had cleaned up and been changed into the 'appropriate' robes. SG1, including Jack, met with the village chairman in the chamber where Sam had last been seen.

The room was small and housed little furniture other then a bed and a dressing table. The sheets were mussed but more so of someone having slept in them than of a struggle.

"The guards reported that she had been sleeping and for a moment she was not guarded as they were being relieved by others, but in that moment, she disappeared." The Chairman explained as Teal'c knelt beside the bed to pick up a small broken glass capsule.

"T?" Jack asked shifting the positioning of his hands on his P90. At this point the chairman scoffed and began fuming with frustration.

"I take it you know what it is?" Vala asked and the man nodded

"It is the casing used to contain a toxicant that is forbidden in our land" he explained "It does not last very long, but it renders the body useless while the mind remains alert." he finished and a breath of realisation filled the room. "I know who did this"

"You do?" Cameron asked growing eager

"There is a village nearby here, run by a very wealthy and powerful man." he nodded "up until recently he was a very respectable leader and a close friend of mine" he continued "but he has become desperate" he told them as SG1 listened intently. "you see his wife is dying, she can not be saved; but she is with child and will pass well before there daughter is full term. Raphuscious believes that the goddess can prolong someone in her presence's life when they are close to death." he explained "he has tried before to capture Atina"

"Okay, how do we get in?" Jack stepped forward, trying to ignore the bubbling fury that images of Sam paralysed brought about.

"You can not" he admitted bowing his head in regret "his estate is heavily guarded"

"How do visitors gain entry?" Teal'c asked and the man paused in thought and then his face brightened

"That is it!" he grinned "He is holding a ceremony at his estate in three nights to honour his wife's life" he explained

"You can enter his estate by posing as guests" he offered "I will help you, but first..." he paused looking to Jack "you must show me how this gene makes you able to activate the statue and not the goddess."


End file.
